The development of the Welsh language in local communities: A critical examination of the policy initiative, Amdani

If successful, the Welsh language strategy Cymraeg 2050: A million Welsh speakers (Welsh Government, 2017) means that about a third of the country will be able to speak the language within 30 years. This has significant implications for public life (Selleck, 2016) in that Welsh will need to be spoken beyond the traditional settings of home and school. Given the results of the 2021 Census which recorded only 17.8% of adults being able to speak Welsh, this ambitious target suggests that whilst a ‘business as usual’ approach will be insufficient, there are potential pitfalls in implementing novel initiatives. Launched by the Welsh Language Commissioner’s (WLC) office in 2018, Amdani was an initiative that aimed to promote the use of Welsh beyond the school gate. The intervention involved the creation and distribution of resources which offered Welsh terminology packs that were circulated to local sports clubs to encourage the language to be used in these settings as part of daily interactions by players, volunteers and officials.